Virginia Aviles gave birth to her daughter, Lorrain, when she was 17 years old. The baby’s father was not in the picture, and while her mother was willing to help as much as she could, Virginia’s future was uncertain. She had always seen herself furthering her education after high school, and although it wasn’t going to be easy, Virginia wasn’t willing to compromise.

She knew if she wanted to fulfill her dream of getting into audio production, and to truly excel at her future career, she would have to leave her hometown. So she applied and was accepted into the Art Institute of Atlanta for audio production.

When Virginia move to Atlanta from South Carolina, she had one goal in mind: furthering her education for herself and her daughter. On the first day of class, this single mother was nervous but thrilled to be following her dreams. She was the only female in the whole program, and she quickly caught the attention of her now-husband, Eric:

“I remember walking into class and this cute guy invited me to sit next to him. I accepted his invitation and we quickly became friends. He was in all of my classes, so we were literally always with each other. I knew he liked me more than just a friend, but I made it very clear that I was in Atlanta to further my career for me and my daughter. I told him if I was to ever date again, I would be looking for something serious. I didn’t have time for anything casual. I had a daughter to look after.”

Eric, also new to the Atlanta area, was not scared off by the idea of dating a driven girl with a 1-year-old daughter. He actually accepted the idea very early on in their courtship:

“It really didn’t bother me that Virginia had a young daughter. My mom had two daughters after she had me, and none of our dads were around to raise us. I was the man of the house, so I had step up and help raise my sisters at a really young age. I had to grow up earlier than most kids. The thought of a child growing up without a father is awful. People don’t talk about it, but it really hurts when a parent leaves you. I knew I really liked Virginia, and I didn’t want her daughter to grow up having any of the feelings that I had toward my father. It’s not fair to a child.”

Virginia could tell that Eric was committed to her from the very beginning. He was great with her daughter and treated them both with love and respect. Virginia knew that she had found the love of her life in Eric.

Unfortunately, their love story wasn’t smooth sailing from the beginning. Eric explained that they had to overcome come serious obstacles to get to where they are today:

“There were times that I didn’t think we would make it. At one point, we were homeless. We would crash wherever people would let us. It was really hard for that to not crush our spirits. I felt so defeated, but Virginia stuck by my side. She could have left me; it would have been easier to just leave me, but she didn’t. That’s true love. She saved me.”

While they were just trying to keep their heads above water, life kept getting hard for the little family. One misfortune after another should have destroyed this couple, but Virginia explained that it actually brought them closer than ever:

“I have always had the team mentality. No one should have to do this alone. We were family at that point; there was no way that I was going to walk away. We just kept holding onto the idea that if we work hard, one day this will all be worth it. One day, we will look back on the terrible things we’ve been through and look at it as a learning experience. We worked so incredibly hard. We pushed each other and encouraged each other to do better than yesterday.”

Virginia and Eric married on May 28, 2016, and everything is looking positive for this determined couple.

It has been six years since they overcame some of the biggest struggles of their lives. Lorrain has grown into a beautiful, thriving 7 year old with two incredibly supportive parents. Both Eric and Virginia have jobs in audio production and were able to purchase their first house. And on top of that, the couple is thrilled to announce that they are expecting their first child together in November.